Development, Acceptability, and Initial Implementation of an Interactive Text-Messaging Program for Fathers with Low Income.

OBJECTIVES: This study describes the development, acceptability, and implementation of an interactive text messaging program to engage fathers enrolled in home visitation programs. METHODS: We used an iterative development approach that integrated rapid testing of intervention content with acceptability feedback from program participants to examine the processes of implementation. In Study 1, we describe the rapid testing framework and present data from 171 men who provided feedback on Text4Dad content via three online surveys. In Study 2, a case study, we use administrative data from 108 fathers with whom we pilot-tested Text4Dad in three community-based home visiting programs, with the program implemented by fatherhood program community health workers (F-CHWs). Content analysis of exchanges between F-CHWs and fathers describes the specific use of Text4Dad. RESULTS: Across all three online surveys, fathers reported positive reviews of the Text4Dad content. The F-CHWs used Text4Dad mainly to push out information, especially that related to home visit scheduling and local events, instead of engaging in bidirectional interactions with fathers. CONCLUSIONS FOR PRACTICE: We conclude with a set of recommendations for social service and maternal and child health providers regarding the feasibility of implementing text messaging to support home visiting in community-based settings.

Disaster preparedness among Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi American communities.

Disaster experiences and explorations of preparedness among Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi Americans (APIDA) in the United States are often overlooked owing to their relatively smaller population share. APIDA are not homogenous, and their disaster experiences warrant further examination. This paper does so by investigating disaster preparedness using disaggregated information about APIDA. The study utilises nationally representative data from the 2017 American Housing Survey, analysing sociodemographic covariates. The disaster preparedness score among APIDA communities was approximately 4.81 on a zero to nine scale. APIDA renters and non-US citizens were less prepared than homeowners and US citizens. Among subgroups, Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese respondents who were non-US citizens were less prepared than those who were US citizens. Marital status was significantly and positively associated with preparedness among Indians, Japanese, Vietnamese, and multiracial respondents. The findings underscore the importance of data disaggregation and tailored preparedness information and resources to address specific challenges APIDA communities face instead of a one-size-fits-all approach.

Low-income fathers are emotionally resilient: A qualitative exploration of paternal emotions across early parenting.

Emotions play an important role in fostering positive parenting and healthy child development. This qualitative study explored the affective experiences of racially diverse US fathers with low income across the prenatal, postnatal, and early childhood periods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 fathers. Interview questions asked about fathers' early parenting experiences that elicit parenting emotions of different valence. Results from thematic analysis demonstrated activation of multiple emotions depending on different proximal and distal experiences. Specific to proximal experiences, fathers reported feeling both excited and anxious about pregnancy and joyful and disappointed at childbirth. Related to distal experiences, fathers reported feeling encouraged by their social support networks that further aid their parenting, but feeling marginalized given systematic barriers (e.g., societal bias, high incarceration rates of Black fathers). Most importantly, fathers' parenting emotions, especially negative ones, led to them resolving to stay involved in their children's lives, gaining a sense of responsibility, and changing behaviors to do right by their children. Fathers resorted to various coping strategies to regulate their negative emotions. Overall, fathers with low income are emotionally resilient. Infant and early childhood health professionals should support fathers' mental health to promote father-child engagement and thus, ultimately, young children's mental health and wellbeing.

Las emociones juegan un papel importante en fomentar una crianza positiva y un saludable desarrollo del niño. Este estudio cualitativo exploró las experiencias afectivas de papás de Estados Unidos de bajos recursos económicos que son racialmente diversos a lo largo de los períodos prenatal, postnatal y la temprana niñez. Se llevaron a cabo entrevistas semiestructuradas con 24 papás. Las preguntas de la entrevista trataban acerca de las tempranas experiencias de crianza de los papás que provocaban emociones de crianza de valencia diferente. Los resultados de análisis temáticos demostraron la activación de múltiples emociones dependiendo de diferentes emociones proximales y distales. Específico a las experiencias proximales, los papás reportaron sentirse tanto emocionados como ansiosos acerca del embarazo y alegres y decepcionados al momento del nacimiento. Con relación a las experiencias distales, los papás reportaron sentirse animados por parte de sus redes de apoyo social que ayudaron en su acercamiento a la crianza y sentirse marginalizados dadas las barreras sistemáticas. De manera más importante, las emociones de crianza de los papás especialmente las negativas, les llevaron a decidir mantenerse involucrados en las vidas de sus niños, adquiriendo un sentido de responsabilidad y cambiando conductas para hacer lo correcto con sus niños. Los papás recurrieron a varias estrategias para regular sus emociones negativas. En general, los papás de bajas entradas económicas son emocionalmente fuertes. Los profesionales de la salud infantil y en la temprana niñez deben apoyar la salud mental de los papás para promover la compenetración papá­niño y a la larga, la salud mental y el bienestar de los niños pequeños.

Implementing a Text Messaging Intervention to Engage Fathers in Home Visiting.

PURPOSE: This "From the Field" article reports on the Text4Dad text messaging intervention designed to engage fathers in home visiting. We introduce implementation process components from our pilot study across three Healthy Start home visitation sites. DESCRIPTION: Three Fatherhood Community Health Workers (F-CHWs) and three fathers from one Text4Dad site were interviewed. Using content analysis, we examined the experiences of F-CHWs who implemented Text4Dad and program participants who used Text4Dad. ASSESSMENT: Results highlighted five implementation process components related to: (1) F-CHWs' use of Text4Dad and enrolling fathers; (2) F-CHWs' interactions with fathers, perceptions of Text4Dad content, and integration of Text4Dad into home visits with fathers; (3) training and technical assistance for F-CHWs; (4) father program participants' acceptability and usability of Text4Dad; and (5) fathers' barriers to interactive use of Text4Dad. CONCLUSION: The F-CHWs were able to successfully enroll fathers into Text4Dad. F-CHWs and fathers found Text4Dad content acceptable to their circumstances. Text4Dad technology was viewed as usable, with some limitations. F-CHWs experienced challenges accessing the Text4Dad platform while on home visits. Results suggested that F-CHWs did not use Text4Dad to facilitate interaction, and accordingly, fathers had a lower than anticipated response rate to texts sent by their F-CHWs. We conclude with future directions for improving the implementation of text messaging programs in community-based fatherhood programs.

Chapter IV: In Search of the Father-Infant Activation Relationship: A Person-Centered Approach.

The current study explored whether fathers and mothers from 195 two-parent U.S. families engaged in a form of activation parenting (i.e., sensitivity, cognitive stimulation, and moderate intrusiveness) with their secondborn, 12-month-old infants during a 15-min challenging teaching task, and to determine if this type of interaction was more common among fathers. Mean comparisons showed that fathers were lower on sensitivity, positive regard, and stimulation of development, and were more detached than mothers. Latent Profile Analyses revealed similar supportive, disengaged, and activation parenting profiles for fathers and mothers, with more fathers in the activation class. Chi-square analyses found significant associations across mothers and fathers; most infants (30%) had activation fathers and mothers, with 26% having supportive mothers and activation fathers, and 11.4% having two supportive parents. Parenting profiles were unrelated to attachment security. Results need to be replicated with children of different ages, with families from different backgrounds, and beyond the challenging teaching paradigm.

Advancing Research and Measurement on Fathering and Child Development.

Fathers are more than social accidents. Research has demonstrated that fathers matter to children's development. Despite noted progress, challenges remain on how best to conceptualize and assess fathering and father-child relationships. The current monograph is the result of an SRCD-sponsored meeting of fatherhood scholars brought together to discuss these challenges and make recommendations for best practices for incorporating fathers in studies on parenting and children's development. The first aim of this monograph was to provide a brief update on the current state of research on fathering and to lay out a developmental ecological systems perspective as a conceptual framework for understanding the different spaces fathers inhabit in their children's lives. Because there is wide variability in fathers' roles, the ecological systems perspective situates fathers, mothers, children, and other caregivers within an evolving network of interrelated social relationships in which children and their parents change over time and space (e.g., residence). The second aim was to present examples of empirical studies conducted by members of the international working group that highlighted different methods, data collection, and statistical analyses used to capture the variability in father-child relationships. The monograph ends with a commentary that elaborates on the ecological systems framework with a discussion of the broader macrosystem and social-contextual influences that impinge on fathers and their children. The collection of articles contributes to research on father-child relationships by advancing theory and presenting varied methods and analysis strategies that assist in understanding the father-child relationship and its impact on child development.

Father Early Engagement Behaviors and Infant Low Birth Weight.

Objective To examine the association of father early engagement behaviors and infant low birth weight (LBW) among unmarried, urban couples. Methods Participants were from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a birth-cohort study of urban families. We conducted cross-sectional analyses of data from interviews with unmarried mothers and fathers (N = 2726) that took place at the time of their child's birth. Early engagement behaviors were based on fathers' self-report of whether during the pregnancy they gave mothers money to buy things for the baby, helped in other ways like providing transportation to prenatal clinics, and attended the birth. Results Most (68.9%) fathers engaged in all three early engagement behaviors; 22% engaged in 2 behaviors; and 9.1% engaged in 1 or 0 early engagement behaviors. LBW more than doubled when comparing infants of fathers who engaged in all three early engagement behaviors (9.6% predicted probability of LBW) to those fathers who engaged in no early engagement behaviors (over 22% predicted probability of LBW). Conclusion Infant and maternal health may benefit from intervention to encourage positive father engagement during pregnancy.

The Association of Fathers' Parental Warmth and Parenting Stress to Child Behavior Problems.

This study examines whether fathers' parental warmth and parenting stress were associated with behavior problems when children were approximately 36-months of age, beyond the influence of maternal behaviors. Study participants were 3,342 low-income fathers and mothers who participated in the Building Strong Families (BSF) study. Cross-sectional regression analyses indicated that for unmarried nonresidential families, fathers' parental warmth and parenting stress were associated with child internalizing behavior problems; and fathers' parenting stress only was marginally associated with child externalizing behavior problems. For consistently cohabiting residential fathers, only fathers' parenting stress was marginally associated with child internalizing behavior problems. No associations of fathers' parental warmth and parenting stress on either internalizing or externalizing behavior problems were observed in married families. Overall, study results suggest that fathers' parental warmth and parenting stress may have a modest positive association on the development of child internalizing behavior problems particularly in vulnerable families (e.g., families in which fathers were nonresidential).

Coparenting Profiles and Children's Socioemotional Outcomes in Unmarried Parents with Low-Income.

Objective: This study aimed to examine patterns of mother-father coparenting relationship quality and their associations with child empathy, emotional insecurity, and behavior problems in families with low income. Background: Given the growing number of nonmarital births and the high risk of relationship dissolution among cohabiting couples living with low income, it is important to examine the coparenting relationships among racially diverse unmarried couples from low-income contexts. To date, little research has assessed patterns of coparenting relationships and their associations with child socioemotional outcomes among this population. Method: Participants were 4,266 unmarried couples and their preschool-aged children from the Building Strong Families study. Latent profile analysis was conducted. Results: Latent profile analysis of survey data from mothers and fathers revealed four coparenting patterns: Profile 1: low quality, more negative maternal coparenting perceptions (7.2%); Profile 2: moderate-high quality, high congruence, slightly more negative paternal coparenting perceptions (25.2%); Profile 3: low congruence, severely more negative maternal coparenting perceptions (11.8%); and Profile 4: mutual high-quality coparenting (55.8%). Conclusion: Children of parents with the mutual high-quality coparenting profile had the most positive outcomes according to maternal reports of child socioemotional development. Highly congruent and positive perceptions of the other parent as a coparent were found to be significant promotive factors for positive child socioemotional development. Implications: Family strengthening policies and programs for unmarried couples with low income should target and support the development of mutually satisfying, high-quality coparenting relationships, with the ultimate goal to improve developmental outcomes for young children in such families.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Physical Health Outcomes of Children in Foster Care: A Systematic Review.

Children of color-especially Black and Indigenous children-are disproportionately overrepresented in foster care and experience barriers in accessing services and receiving physical and behavioral healthcare compared to their White counterparts. Although racial disparities in mental health outcomes of children in foster care have been examined systematically, less is known about racial disparities in their physical health outcomes. This systematic review aimed to examine disparities in physical health outcomes (i.e., general health, developmental delays and disability, chronic illness, health-compromising behaviors, all-cause mortality) of children in foster care by their race and ethnicity (PROSPERO ID: CRD42021272072). Systematic literature searches were conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Of the 6,102 unique studies identified, 24 met inclusion criteria: peer-reviewed journal article; published from 1991 to 2021; written in English; involved children in the U.S. foster care system; children were primarily in family-based placements; included health outcomes; included children's race and ethnicity; conducted quantitative analyses; and had an observational study design. There was limited evidence to suggest racial disparities among physical health domains examined, in part, due to the small number of studies, variability across study measures and designs, how race and ethnicity were categorized, and how related results were reported. Research that disaggregates results by more nuanced race and ethnicity categories, goes beyond including race and ethnicity as control variables, and uses more robust study designs to understand where racial disparities lie is necessary to inform practice and policy efforts to attain race and health equity in child welfare.

Parenting attitudes and behaviors among parents involved with the child welfare system and affected by substance use disorders.

BACKGROUND: Co-occurring parental substance use and child maltreatment is a serious concern in the U.S child welfare system. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to examine parenting attitudes and practices among parents who participated in Ohio START (Sobriety, Treatment, And Reducing Trauma), a statewide initiative that provides support to families affected by co-occurring parental substance use and child maltreatment. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Study 1 involved quantitative data collected from 73 enrolled parents through pre-test and post-test telephone surveys. Study 2 (parent interviews) involved qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews with 34 enrolled parents. METHODS: The paired-sample t-test and the McNemar test were conducted in Study 1 and thematic analysis was conducted in Study 2. RESULTS: Quantitative analysis indicated significant improvements in parental expectations of children (t = -3.42, p = .001, Cohen's d = -0.40), parent-child family roles (t = -5.74, p < .001, Cohen's d = -0.67), and children's power and independence (t = -3.42, p = .001, Cohen's d = -0.40). Qualitative analysis revealed six themes related to changes in parenting after participation in Ohio START: (1) Being present for children, (2) Engaging in activities with children, (3) Enjoyment in providing care to children, (4) Maintaining employment for financial stability, (5) Better emotion regulation and stress management, and (6) a sense of pride. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate positive changes in parenting attitudes and practices among parents who participated in Ohio START and provide further support for the potential merits of this model and its continued expansion throughout Ohio.

Who makes the call? Examining the relationship between child maltreatment referral sources and case outcomes in the United States, 2008-2018.

BACKGROUND: Research shows general increases in child maltreatment reports in the U.S. However, less is understood about how reporting varies across states and changes over time, from a perspective of referral sources. While recent studies during COVID-19 reported a reduction in maltreatment referrals, predominantly school referrals, little research has examined changes in maltreatment referrals by referral sources before the pandemic and how different referral sources are associated with case outcomes, particularly out-of-home placement. OBJECTIVES: This study examined 1) variations across states and changes over time in maltreatment reporting by referral source and 2) the relationship between referral sources type and two case outcomes: substantiated maltreatment and out-of-home placement. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: We used 2008-2018 data (N = 24,349,293) from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. METHODS: We used descriptive trend analysis and pooled, fixed effects binary logistic regression. RESULTS: We found gradual increases in reporting during 2008-2018, with substantial variations across states and referral sources. States rely differently on certain reporter types, while we see the largest increase in education referrals and a small decrease in social services referrals. Regression results showed that education referrals were less likely to result in out-of-home placement; law enforcement referrals were most likely to be substantiated, while social service referrals were most likely to result in out-of-home placement. CONCLUSION: This study makes unique contributions to literature by expanding our knowledge of referral sources and examining the likelihood of substantiation and out-of-home placement by referral source type. We provide child welfare policy and practice implications.

Child Welfare System-Level Factors Associated with All-Cause Mortality Among Children in Foster Care in the United States, 2009-2018.

Little is known about the impact of child welfare system-level factors on child mortality as an outcome within foster care. Using data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, 2009-2018, we examined the associations between county-level sociodemographic, foster care performance, and judicial reform characteristics with all-cause mortality rates. Results of random effects negative binomial regression analyses showed that higher proportions of younger children (<1 year: IRR = 1.06, 95% CI [1.02, 1.11]; 5-9 years: IRR = 1.05, 95% CI [1.01, 1.09]); children of color (i.e., non-Hispanic Asian: IRR = 1.07, 95% CI [1.01, 1.13]; multiracial: IRR = 1.03, 95% CI [1.01, 1.04]; non-Hispanic Black: IRR = 1.02, 95% CI [1.01, 1.02]; Hispanic: IRR = 1.01, 95% CI [1.01, 1.02]); and male children (IRR = 1.10, 95% CI [1.05, 1.15]) were associated with higher mortality risks at the county level. Current class action lawsuits (IRR = 0.79, 95% CI [0.63, 0.99]) and active consent decrees (IRR = 0.77, 95% CI [0.63, 0.94]) were associated with lower mortality risks. None of the foster care performance characteristics (e.g., foster care entry, placement stability, permanency) were associated with mortality risks. These findings have implications for addressing health disparities and reforming foster care systems through programmatic and policy efforts.

Father-Mother Co-Involvement in Child Maltreatment: Associations of Prior Perpetration, Parental Substance Use, Parental Medical Conditions, Inadequate Housing, and Intimate Partner Violence with Different Maltreatment Types.

The current study applied a family systems approach to examine dyadic parental risk factors linked with mother-father co-involved physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. Parental substance use, mental health problems, disability and medical conditions, inadequate housing, economic insecurity, intimate partner violence, and prior maltreatment history were investigated as key risk factors at the dyadic parental level. Logistic regression analysis was conducted using national child welfare administrative data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. The results showed differential associations between risk factors and four child maltreatment types: physical abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse. Intimate partner violence was associated with higher odds of mother-father co-involved neglect and emotional abuse. Parental substance use, inadequate housing, and prior maltreatment history were all associated with higher odds of mother-father co-involved neglect, but lower odds of physical abuse. Parental disability and medical conditions were associated with higher odds of mother-father co-involved sexual abuse, whereas parental substance use was associated with lower odds of sexual abuse. Implications include more nuanced ways of addressing multiple risk factors within the family to prevent future occurrences of child maltreatment involving both mothers and fathers.

Examining mechanisms linking economic insecurity to interparental conflict among couples with low income.

Objective: The current study used the family stress model to test the mechanisms by which economic insecurity contributes to mothers' and fathers' mental health and couples' relationship functioning. Background: Although low household income has been a focus of poverty research, material hardship-defined as everyday challenges related to making ends meet including difficulties paying for housing, utilities, food, or medical care-is common among American families. Methods: Participants were from the Building Strong Families project. Couples were racially diverse (43.52% Black; 28.88% Latinx; 17.29% White; 10.31% Other) and living with low income (N = 2,794). Economic insecurity included income poverty and material hardship. Bayesian mediation analysis was employed, taking advantage of the prior evidence base of the family stress model. Results: Material hardship, but not income poverty, predicted higher levels of both maternal and paternal depressive symptoms. Only paternal depressive symptoms were linked with higher levels of destructive interparental conflict (i.e., moderate verbal aggression couples use that could be harmful to the partner relationship). Mediation analysis confirmed that material hardship operated primarily through paternal depressive symptoms in its association with destructive interparental conflict. Conclusion: The economic stress of meeting the daily material needs of the family sets the stage for parental mental health problems that carry over to destructive interparental conflict, especially through paternal depressive symptoms. Implications: Family-strengthening programs may want to consider interventions to address material hardship (e.g., comprehensive needs assessments, connections to community-based resources, parents' employment training) as part of their efforts to address parental mental health and couples' destructive conflict behaviors.

Parental Relationship Status as a Moderator of the Associations Between Mothers' and Fathers' Conflict Behaviors and Early Child Behavior Problems.

This study examines interparental conflict and associations with child behavior problems among a large, diverse sample of families with low income (N = 2,691) using path model analyses of mothers' and fathers' reports of constructive interparental conflict, destructive interparental conflict, and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization at 15 months and child emotional insecurity and child behavior problems at 36 months. Multigroup models examined whether parental relationship status (i.e., married, cohabiting, and churning) moderated these associations. Fathers' perceptions of interparental conflict behaviors showed few direct associations with child outcomes, whereas mothers' perceptions of interparental conflict showed more robust associations with child outcomes. Specifically, mother-reported destructive conflict was associated with higher levels of child emotional insecurity and child behavior problems across parental relationship status subgroups. Mother-reported constructive conflict had a small negative association with child behavior problems in cohabiting families. Child emotional insecurity mediated the association of maternal destructive conflict on child behavior problems. Although churning families experienced higher levels of moderate and severe interparental conflict, associations linking destructive conflict to child behavior problems were consistent across parental relationship subgroups. There were few direct effects of father-reported constructive and destructive conflict on child well-being. However, the results supported the notion that fathers play an influential role in the family system via maternal reports of IPV victimization. Results of this study suggest that the mechanisms underlying emotional security theory, in which child emotional insecurity mediates the associations between maternal destructive conflict and child behavior problems, apply to a large and racially diverse sample of socioeconomically disadvantaged children.

Supporting Fathers to Prevent Child Maltreatment: How Paid Family Leave and Child Care Subsidies are Part of a Public Health Approach.

There are multiple components of a public health approach for preventing child maltreatment. One of these components is the question of who to intervene with. Fathers are an under-targeted and under-studied group for child maltreatment prevention. In this conceptual article, we describe a public health approach for intervening with fathers. Acknowledging financial stress as a key risk factor for child maltreatment among fathers, we explore two policy interventions that aim to increase economic support for families during the early years of a child's life: paid family leave and child care subsidies. During the weeks following the child's birth, paid family leave can promote child-father bonding and enable fathers to engage in more caregiving during a critical family transition. After paid family leave ends, child care subsidies can make child care affordable for families with low income, thereby promoting parents' employment and earnings. We conclude by highlighting ways in which fathers can take an active role in preventing child maltreatment.

Parental Social Isolation and Child Maltreatment Risk during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

On March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The social isolation and economic stress resulting from pandemic have the potential to exacerbate child abuse and neglect. This study examines the association of parents' perceived social isolation and recent employment loss to risk for child maltreatment (neglect, verbal aggression, and physical punishment) in the early weeks of the pandemic. Participants (N = 283) were adults living in the U.S. who were parents of at least one child 0-12 years of age. Participants completed an online survey approximately 2 weeks after the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 was a pandemic. The survey asked about recent changes (i.e., in the past 2 weeks) to employment status, parenting behaviors, use of discipline, use of spanking, and depressive symptoms. Nearly 20% of parents had hit or spanked their child in the past two weeks alone. Parents' perceived social isolation and recent employment loss were associated with self-report of physical and emotional neglect and verbal aggression against the child, even after controlling for parental depressive symptoms, income, and sociodemographic factors. Parents' perceived social isolation was associated with parental report of changes in discipline, specifically, using discipline and spanking more often in the past 2 weeks. Associations were robust to analyses that included two variables that assessed days spent social distancing and days spent in "lockdown." Study results point to the need for mental health supports to parents and children to ameliorate the strain created by COVID-19.

Using social media Reddit data to examine foster families' concerns and needs during COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is likely to have negatively impacted foster families but few data sources are available to confirm this. OBJECTIVE: The current study used Reddit social media data to examine how foster families are faring in the pandemic. Discussion topics were identified and examined for changes before and after COVID-19. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Comments were collected from three Reddit online discussion boards dedicated to foster families (N = 11,830). METHODS: We used machine learning techniques, including Latent Dirichlet Allocation, for topic modeling and textual analysis for qualitative coding of the Reddit comments. RESULTS: Results showed that three main topics had both significant quantitative and meaningful qualitative changes before and after COVID-19. There were significant increases in conversation about becoming a foster parent (F = 5.75, p = 0.02) and activities for foster children (F = 10.61, p = 0.001), whereas there was a significant decrease in discussing permanency (F = 9.46, p = 0.003) before and after the onset of COVID-19. Qualitative coding showed that regarding the topic of becoming a parent, excitement over approval of foster care license before COVID-19 shifted to foster families' increased anxieties about delays in their licensing cases after COVID-19. For permanency, content changed from the best interest of the child and reunifications before COVID-19 to concerns over family separations and permanency challenges after COVID-19. Regarding activities for foster children, content related to everyday activities before COVID-19 changed to specific activities foster children and families could do during lockdowns. Results suggest areas child welfare workers may focus on to better support foster families during and after the pandemic.